Warrington talent on display as pair perform in BGT semi final

Two men from the town performed again for the judges and the public – but both failed to reach the final.

Andrew Curphey, a drama teacher and Penketh resident, and Kevin Finn, a comedian from Canada, but who lives in Warrington, took to the stage.

First to perform was Andrew, who opened the show with a mega mash up in a sparkly suit and danced across huge golden letters that spelled out his name.

“My audition was the scariest thing I have ever done in my entire life, but the reaction from the audience was absolutely wild,” he said during his VT clip.

The 37-year-old, who works at The Brindley theatre in Runcorn, started by singing We Are Family by Sister Sledge – cleverly changing the lyrics to instead say ‘We are BGT, clap your hands for Andrew Curphey’.

Mashed up with his first song, Andrew also sang I’m Still Standing by Elton John and I Am What I Am by Gloria Gaynor.

Andrew Curphey sang a mashup in last night's semi final (Image: ITV)

Despite huge cheers from the crowd, Andrew received a buzzer from Simon Cowell during his performance.

“I really like you as a game show host, I think you would be brilliant,” said Simon.

“You’ve got a great personality, you’re really funny – the singing wasn’t great.”

Boos erupted from the audience, and Bruno Tonioli seemed to agree with their opinion, taking to his feet to give his feedback.

“Big, loud and proud, that’s the way you like it,” said Bruno.

“You know how to get a party started, you had everyone on their feet.

“Pride celebrations are starting right now.”

Despite Alisha Dixon telling him that she probably wouldn’t add him to her playlist, Andrew didn’t seem fazed by the mixed responses from the judges.

“I’m telling you now, little Andrew, eight years old from Widnes, this is his dream,” he said.

“I made it kids!”

Andrew, who is originally from Widnes, received huge cheers from the audience (Image: ITV)

Also representing Warrington was Kevin, who performed his standup comedy routine later in the show.

The 30-year-old moved to the UK from Canada to pursue a career in comedy, stating that ‘the audiences in the UK are the best in the world’.

“The people of Warrington have been so supportive of this whole journey and I’m very excited for the semi-finals,” he said in his VT.

Throughout his routine, Kevin showed off his accent skills, doing impressions of cockney and northern accents during his performance.

“I love the north, I live in the north, I think we can agree that the northern accents are the friendliest – not very sexy though are they,” he said on stage.

Kevin performed a standup routine to the judges (Image: ITV)

It was as he performed a joke about a person from Barnsley being a compere at a strip club that he also received a buzz from Simon.

“Look, I’m sorry I buzzed, however, like I said before, we feed off the audience,” said Simon.

“When a comedian is working, you can feel it within about 10 seconds.

“Without being rude, the audition felt like it went on forever and it didn’t start well – the end maybe was better – but honestly you’re going to be disappointed I think when you watch this back because you’re better than that.”

It wasn’t all negative from the judges though, as Alisha offered support to Kevin after his performance.

“Coming out here and doing standup comedy, I think, is one of the toughest things you can do on the Britain’s Got Talent Stage, so my heart is completely with you,” she said.

“I loved your first audition, you are clearly super, super talented, I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now.

“You know, that’s the risk you take as a comedian, some nights you land and some nights you don’t.

“Be proud of yourself no matter what.”

Despite cheers from the crowds in support of both acts, they both fell short on votes from the public to send them through to the final this Sunday.

You can catch up on last night’s semi final of Britain’s Got Talent on ITVX.